<p>i have plenty of typical EC's like jobs, internships, and community service, but i was wondering how to include more unusual EC's into my app
for example travel is definitely a unique thing about me, because i travel during every single school vacation and have been to 26 countries. I could probably put like 2 months for how much i travel, which would be a lot more time than all my other EC's. However, my parents said that it should not be as important on my app as the other stuff because stressing how much i travel will make me seem like a rich brat
what should i do</p>
<p>If you craft your application then you won’t sound like a rich brat. When you travel, you should also be giving back to the community. When I went to China, I helped out at a children’s day camp. Teach english, stuff like that. It’ll be much better than “luxury travelling” as colleges might see your travels as.</p>
<p>well i didn’t really travel to “build houses in nicaragua”
i defenetly did not stay in 5 star hotels…rather we tried staying in simpler places and spent a lot of time talking with people, and i have had truly fascinating expiriences, but my travel has been mostly about me…not community service in disguise</p>
<p>Note: when i say travel its usually 2 week trips somewhere
not like 6 month trip abroad like you’re thinking</p>
<p>Your parents are right. It’s unfortunate becase I think tracel does shape young people, bt very good private college conselors advised my kids to avoid discussing anything that indicates wealth which is not in vogue at top colleges now.</p>
<p>Due to the economy, wealth is in vogue now at many colleges including some top ones, which are giving tips to full pay students.</p>
<p>^Northstarmom is right. I got admitted from Washington & Lee’s waitlist but didn’t get any fin aid. My mom called and talked to a man at their financial aid offices. He told her that they offered admission to waitlisted applicants whose financial situations implied that they could afford to attend without any aid. No question that’s why they admitted me, but I like to think that I got ON their waitlist for my academics first. :)</p>
<p>If you wanted to write your essay about some of your travel experiences, that might work. You could mention how much you travel. I wouldn’t list it as an extracurricular, though. But if it really was that formative of an experience, then you should have no trouble working it into an essay.</p>
<p>I remember some article about college admissions that talked about why certain student were accepted. One of the students got into Tufts, and one of the major contributions to his application was his essay about how he was passionate about collecting some random thing, and how he’d gone all around the world getting them. Personally, I think that your attempts to understand global cultures is much more interesting, and hopefully colleges will see that as well. I would focus more on what you have learned and how it’s affected you, avoiding sounding like you’ve been a teenage jetsetter.</p>